by Racialicious Special Correspondent Latoya Peterson
Going through my normal morning blog reading ritual, I came across a link to an article on the declining popularity of Kwanzaa.
The article begins:
When I first learned about Kwanzaa in the 1980s, I questioned the need to create an observance for African Americans. It felt too contrived: all those symbols [...]

by Racialicious Special Correspondent Latoya Peterson

*Beauty in Baltimore has posted two images and a provocative question. Go check it out for yourself.
*According to Tokyomango, even Buddhist Monks are using hip-hop to sell their services:

Titled the “Tokyo Bouz Collection,” the event featured 40 monks and nuns from eight major Buddhist sects blinged out [...]

by Racialicious Special Correspondent Latoya Peterson
Note: All of these blogs and articles were found through the excellent organization Global Voices.
JAPAN
Little Black Sambo is still a hot topic for debate in Japan, with Japan Probe weighing in on the latest manifestation of the controversy:
Over at Debito.org, there is a post today containing an e-mail from a [...]

Violent protests over housing erupt in New Orleans – CNN.com
“Protests against a City Council plan to tear down low-income New Orleans housing turned ugly Thursday, with police using pepper spray and stun guns to clear a crowd angry they weren’t allowed into City Hall for the vote.”
(tags: gentrification katrina)

Helen Zia: Be the Change – reappropriate
“The [...]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
A couple of books have come to my attention lately that are truly cringe-worthy. The first is self-published (thanks Wendi):

Check out the official description:
If you’re a White man interested in dating Black women, this book shows you how to make it happen. Learn how Black women think, what they like and [...]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
One of the things I am most looking forward to in 2008: the return of Lost! Hat tip to Angry Asian Man.

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
Hey everyone, I’ll be gone for the next two weeks. Mr. Carmen (who from here on will be known as S – he does have his own identity after all ) and I are going to Hong Kong to visit my folks, and do some sight-seeing in Beijing. It’ll be [...]

by guest contributor Thea, originally published at Shameless Blog
Research. It always gets you into trouble. This review was supposed to say “Empowering! Feminist! Realism! Actually Tough Women of Colour!”. But then I did a little googling, (damn you google!) and now I’m confused.
The movie Bandit Queen is based on the story of the [...]

White separatist group sues Jena over march – Race & ethnicity- msnbc.com
“A white separatist group planning a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade next month in Jena is suing the town, claiming officials are violating the Constitution by asking participants not to bring firearms”
(tags: jenasix whitesupremacy)

Jhumpa branches out – Ultrabrown
LOL! “Celebrated author Jhumpa Lahiri has [...]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
This Arby’s commercial is making some Irish-Americans really angry. Check out this recent letter to the editor of Irish America magazine (hat tip HighJive):
A television commercial currently aired by Arby’s restaurants features a group of laboratory chimpanzees so happy to have sampled Arby’s product that they break into a traditional Irish step [...]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
Ugh! I keep encountering this god-awful commercial at random times while watching TV. It’s sooooooooooooo bad that I just had to share. Why is it that when companies feel the need to appeal to people of color, they create such gross ads??

by guest contributor Manish, originally published at Ultrabrown
Nina’s Heavenly Delights is the latest badly-written desi flick to hit enough recognizable truths about the diaspora that it’s fun in spite of itself. It’s a Glaswegian lesbian romance interpreted chastely, as if for kids. The female leads nuzzle and kiss without tongue, lest director Pratibha Parmar offend [...]

What I.Q. doesn’t tell you about race – The New Yorker
“average I.Q.s shift over time…How could such huge gains be intelligence gains? Either the children of today were far brighter than their parents or…I.Q. tests were not good measures of intelligence”
(tags: dna race racism science)

Let’s Just Get Along: Poll Passes Up Structural Analysis of Race [...]